We were sending conventional soldiers into jungles where they did not know who was their friend and who was their enemy. By the Mid-1960s most Vietcong
had advanced machine guns and “highly effective rocket propelled grenades”
We dropped a greater tonnage of bombs in Vietnam than was dropped in all of WWII. This had no effect. The Vietcong were dispersed throughout the nation and
not located at one point. The Viet Cong set up many different kinds of traps for their enemies including bamboo whips, steel arrow traps, trap bridges and spike trap pits.
We underestimated the will of the North Vietnamese. The American soldiers who were being sent over had no clear objective as they did in World War II.
There is a striking similarity to why the British lost the American Revolution. The American colonists were motivated. They knew what they were fighting for. They
had something to gain. The British soldiers who were sent to fight were doing so because they were instructed to, not because they were individually motivated.
Thus, the fact that the British had a far superior military with better trained soldiers didn’t affect the outcome of the war.
“The United States had no clearly defined objectives.” Johnson wanted to go into Vietnam only as much as he needed to without losing public support.
We were trying to save a people (the South Vietnamese) who didn’t want to save themselves.
A soldier from the 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division
prepares to enter a tunnel while an armed soldier keeps guard.
They were hoping to clear any Viet Cong who might be hiding in
the tunnel out.
The Tet Offensive was a series of coordinated attacks launched by the Viet Cong against multiple locations in South Vietnam in 1968. For approximately two
months following these attacks, U.S. forces beat back the Viet Cong. By the time the Tet Offensive was over, the Viet Cong were essentially finished as a fighting force.
Nevertheless the public and the media began to doubt Westmoreland’s ability to command and to question the handling of the conflict. “Ultimately, it was the media’s reaction
and stressing of a widening ‘credibility gap’ that did the most damage to the Johnson administration’s efforts.”(about.com)
Military:
We were sending conventional soldiers into jungles where they did not know who was their friend and who was their enemy. By the Mid-1960s most Vietcong
had advanced machine guns and “highly effective rocket propelled grenades”
We dropped a greater tonnage of bombs in Vietnam than was dropped in all of WWII. This had no effect. The Vietcong were dispersed throughout the nation and
not located at one point. The Viet Cong set up many different kinds of traps for their enemies including bamboo whips, steel arrow traps, trap bridges and spike trap pits.
We underestimated the will of the North Vietnamese. The American soldiers who were being sent over had no clear objective as they did in World War II.
There is a striking similarity to why the British lost the American Revolution. The American colonists were motivated. They knew what they were fighting for. They
had something to gain. The British soldiers who were sent to fight were doing so because they were instructed to, not because they were individually motivated.
Thus, the fact that the British had a far superior military with better trained soldiers didn’t affect the outcome of the war.
“The United States had no clearly defined objectives.” Johnson wanted to go into Vietnam only as much as he needed to without losing public support.
We were trying to save a people (the South Vietnamese) who didn’t want to save themselves.
A soldier from the 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division
prepares to enter a tunnel while an armed soldier keeps guard.
They were hoping to clear any Viet Cong who might be hiding in
the tunnel out.
An Indepth Look...
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a series of coordinated attacks launched by the Viet Cong against multiple locations in South Vietnam in 1968. For approximately two
months following these attacks, U.S. forces beat back the Viet Cong. By the time the Tet Offensive was over, the Viet Cong were essentially finished as a fighting force.
Nevertheless the public and the media began to doubt Westmoreland’s ability to command and to question the handling of the conflict. “Ultimately, it was the media’s reaction
and stressing of a widening ‘credibility gap’ that did the most damage to the Johnson administration’s efforts.”(about.com)
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